Improved apparatus for distilling petroleum



, A. DUBRELHL.

I on sun. No. 48,265. Patented June 20, 1865.,

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PATENT Errea.

A. DUBREUIL, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING PETROLEUM.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 48,265, dated June 20, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AnisrrDE DUBREUIL,

' a citizen of France. but now residing in the city of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented a new, useful, and Improved Apparatus for Distilling Petroleum or Rock-Uil; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and accurate description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

By the present system of distillation of petroleum by dry heat the material in contact with the iron immediately over the tire is subjected to a destructive distillation, forming a dry gas, which will not condense in its passage through the worm. This iniiammable gas in its escape into the air renders the process dangerous. That portion of the material soin contact with the iron, though not sufficiently heated to generate a gas, becomes burned and discolored. By my apparatus and process l avoid the'generation of any gas, and send the vapor over, to the last moment of distillation, pure and white.

My improved apparatus consists in introducing a boileror steam-generator inside they` retort or still in which the material is placed for distillation.

To enable others skilled in the ait to make and use my improved apparatus, I will pro ceed to describe its construction and operation. I construct the still or retort to contain the petroleum of light boiler-iron, of any required form to economize space and heat, with castiron heads. Near the bottom of the still I insert a boiler7 extending the entire length of the still, sufficiently raised from the bottom to allow the petroleum to surround the boiler and to give room to clean anyimpurities that might lodge upon the bottom. l prefer a tubular boiler as the most economical. At either end the boiler rests upon the cast-iron .head of the f The center is In front the still, through which it passes. supported by a cast-iron chair.

.boiler projects over the lire-surface or furnace.

longitudinal vertical section of the retort, generator or boiler, andl furnace. Fig. 4 1s an end view of a still as set, showing the fire-surface,

with end View of the tubular boiler, steam,

gage, and safety-valve.

In these drawings the same letters represenltl corresponding parts of the apparatus in eac A represents the furnace, with the lues a' a, rt", through the boiler B, discharging into the smoke-stack G. The retort or still G, in which the petroleum is placed, surrounds the boiler G. The man-hole I) allows an entrance into the still to clean out and remove impurities, it' Aany are deposited as sediment upon the bottom ot' the still. The vapor of petroleum is carried oliI through the goose-neck E, as in ordinarydistillation, and is condensed in a worm. The tar, or that portion ofthe material too heavy to pass off in vapor, but remaining liquid while warm, is drawn off at the waste-cock Fn-..

The operation is as follows: The still or retort is filled with petroleum, leaving space, however, for the expansion of the material, and the man-holefastened down. The boiler, being supplied with water, is heated from the furnace to the required degree of temperature, and communicates its heat to the surrounding oil. The exact degree of heat required to vaporiZe the material is thus attained andl kept constantly' under control. No dry gas is generated. All the light oils in vapor are condensed in their passage through the worm.

I do not claim as new the process or apparatus above described as applied to the distillation of any substance other than petroleum or rockoil. It is a reversal of the process known among chemists as the bain marie77 or water bath. This [do not claim as new, except in its application to the distillation ot' petroleum or rock-oil5 but Vhat I do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The use of boiling water inside the retort or still to vaporize the material known as petroleum77 or rock-oil, substantially in the manner and for the purposes h'ereinbefore shown and described.

ARISTIDE DUBREUIL.

In presenceof- E. It. SPRAGUE, W. H. HAYWAED. 

